BOISEBEERCULTURE

Wednesday, January 31, 2018

I have received a lot of input over the last several weeks about new breweries in Northern Idaho.

First of all, I would like everyone to check out Beer d' Alene, This is a new website created by Russell Mann to track the craft breweries in the Coeur d'Alene, Idaho area. Also check out the companion Facebook Group Page. Russell was kind enough to provide me with information about two new breweries slated to open up in 2018. He also let me know that the Down Draft Brewing has re-opened under new management.

Check the list below of potential up and coming Idaho breweries including Bent Tree Brewing in Athol and Westwood Brewing in Rathburn. Thanks to Steve Armstrong, I have also added Clearwater Brewing in Kamiah. Special Thanks to Sheila Francis for telling me about the Matchwood Brewing and Utara Brewing both coming to Sandpoint. While researching breweries in Sandpoint, I found another planned brewery, Roots & Shoots Brewing.

Table of Idaho Breweries planning to open in the future. New Additions in bold.

The Hardware Brewing Company was started by Doug and Christine Lohman. They already have started their restaurant in a former Hardware store on Main Street Kendrick, Idaho and working hard to start brewing. They could be serving their own beer as soon as March 2018.

The Koto Brewing Company aka "Twin Falls Brewing" aka "Nameless Brewing" is planning to open in the first quarter of 2018. Shane Cook, the owner, currently operates a Coffee and Sandwich shop in Twin Falls.

Three of the new breweries will be in the Treasure Valley bringing the local brewery count to 25 breweries. See the list at BoiseBeerCulture.com Two of these breweries are being built from "ground up" like Powderhaus Brewing in Boise.

The Guns and Oil Brewing Company is an established brewing company out of Texas. They currently brew their beer at other breweries. They purchased the original Payette Brewing facility and are currently upgrading it to have a larger tap room. The Guns and Oil Brewing Company specializes in lagers. They will make a majority of lagers at their new production facility in Garden CityThe Danelion Brewing Companyis not on a lot of local craft beer fans radar. This brewery is being built by Nathan Guidinger on his small farm near Melba, Idaho. His building is complete and most of his equipment has been delivered. He is building this brewery on his own. All the work is being done by his friends and family. So this brewery could be up and running in the second half of 2018 or the first half of 2019.

The Spring Creek Brewing Company is the brain child of Jeff Badigian and Marc Grubert. This brewery is being built from the "ground up", meaning that they did not buy an existing building for their brewery. Their brewery and pizzeria will be located in the Avimore Community just northwest of Boise. They are currently seeking investors. Check here for investment opportunities. They also plan to open in the second half of 2018.
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The Three Breweries below are still in the planning stages and will probably open after 2018:

We are very sad to say goodbye to Bob Lonseth's Meridian brewery that will close at the end of January 2018. Bob is optimistic that Slanted Rock Brewing will open again somewhere in the Treasure Valley.

Monday, January 15, 2018

A LOOK BACK AT THE BREWERIES THAT OPENED AND CLOSED IN 2017

By Bob Hubler

When the Lost Grove Brewing brewery and tap room opened in Boise in 2017, they became the 80th brewery to open in the State of Idaho since 1984 when Tim Batt opened his Snake River Brewing brewery just west of Caldwell, Idaho. Check out the current list of breweries in Idaho: List of Idaho Breweries

Idaho added six new breweries in 2017 albeit one brewery was a reopening of a brewery that closed the year before. Moscow Brewing was the name of a brewery that operated in Moscow, Idaho from the 1882 until 1908. Lucas Rate started a brewery in Moscow in 2013 and named it the "Moscow Brewing Company" in honor of that first Moscow brewery. His brewery shut down in 2016.
The Moscow Brewery reopened in June 2017 with new equipment and new owners. See full story here.

The Radio Brewing Company became Kellogg's first brewery since the 1800's when it opened in April 2017. They are a Brew Pub offering a full range of food to compliment their craft beer on tap. Check their blog out at http://www.radiobrewingcompany.com/blog-2/

The Shattuck Brewery became Idaho's 77th brewery when it opened in Elk River, Idaho in 2017. This very unique Idaho brewery is on the road to nowhere located just outside of Idaho's remote Elk River. This area is known as a great area to hunt in the fall. Nate Schwartz is the founder, owner and brew master. He plans to keep his taproom closed in the Winter months.

It is always sad to see any brewery close it's doors. Both of the breweries that closed down in 2017 were from North Idaho, just a few miles from each other. Click on the links below for their stories.

Monday, October 9, 2017

Lost Grove Brewing became the 23rd Brewery in Treasure Valley on Friday, October 6th, 2017. They also became the 60th Active Brewery in the State of Idaho.

This brewery is the brainchild of Jacob "Jake" Black. You probably know Jake from his time pouring beer at the original Payette Brewing Tap House in Garden City. Jake was the original Sales Manager for Payette Brewing. Jake and Mike Francis, the Founder of Payette Brewing, were friends from their high school days at Boise High School.

The Lost Grove Brewery and Tap House is just a couple of blocks from the Boise State University Campus and is surrounded by BSU Student Apartments. They are "dog and bicycle friendly" with plans for plenty of bicycle parking out front. Their unique location between BSU and Ann Morrison Park and just two blocks from the Greenbelt Bike Path should allow many customers easy access to the brewery.

Customers in line waiting to drink a beer at Idaho's newest brewery

The lines were long for the opening on Friday night. Those customers got this collector's silver pint cup and two beer tokens for $10.00.

The Lost Grove Collector's Pint Cup

There were two basic beers pouring Friday and Saturday. The "Say Shhhhh! Smash IPA" and the "Teddy Bear Picnic" which was a sessions IPA. They were accompanied by different varieties of each with a dry hop versions and a version with Ginger Peach added. The Say Shhhh! Smash IPA was my favorite and I will be drinking again soon.

The Beer is flowing inside the Tap Room

The Grand opening was a huge success with a large turnout of local craft beer fans and many of Jake's friends there to help him celebrate the opening of his brewery. The Tap Room was crowded when I was there with a lot of beer drinkers also on the side patio behind the Food Truck.

See any familiar faces at the outdoor area?

Food for the opening was provided by the Sushi Shack. We received a lot of positive feedback about their great food. I look forward to their next visit to Lost Grove.

Lost Grove may not be the last brewery to open in Southwest Idaho in 2017. Payette Brewing is rumored to be selling their original location to another brewery. This location is a "turn-key" ready brewery that could be up and running by the end of the year depending on all the red tape.

There are three more breweries slated to open in Southwest Idaho in 2018:

Friday, September 22, 2017

Clairvoyant Brewing opened it's doors to the public last Friday, September 22, 2017, becoming the 59th Active Brewery in Idaho and the 22nd Brewery in the Treasure Valley (if you include Ontario, Oregon). The blog I wrote two weeks ago was about White Dog Brewing and I claimed that they were the 57th Brewery in Idaho, failing to count the Shattuck Brewery in Elk River, Idaho. So White Dog Brewing was actually the 58th Brewery in Idaho.

Mike Edmondson actually opened the doors to Clairvoyant Brewery for the very first time on Thursday, September 14th to the members of the Snake River Brewers homebrew club with an offering of four of their beers and giving the members a tour of the Clairvoyant 7 bbl brew system. He described it as being a "hands on" brew system without any automation. It takes a lot of attention to brew 210 gallons of beer and it is a long brew day.

Mike behind the bar at Clairvoyants soft opening for the Snake River Brewers Club

Mike giving tour of the 7 bbl Brew System

It was a "Long and Winding Road" for Mike Edmondson, Ryan Kowalczyk and Tim Carter as their original target date for opening their brewery was way back in 2015. Once they found their location and drew up their original plans, many changes pushed back their opening.

They originally were going to occupy half the the former garage/car repair shop at 2800 West Idaho street in Boise and brew their beer on a 2.5 beer barrel system. After the business that was set to occupy the other half of their building pulled out, they decided to continue their plans, but now they would occupy the whole building and build a 7 bbl brew system.

Clairvoyant already had three competent brewers, but all of them had full time jobs. The decision was made to add a full time brewer. The following is a short story about their full time head brewer from their website:

Originally from Rockville, Maryland, Eric moved to Colorado after college to study and brew craft beer. There he met his fiancee Lindsey, a native Idahoan, who also worked in the craft beer industry. After having a baby named Madison, Lindsey and Eric decided it was time to move back home to her family in Boise.

Eric has been in the beer industry for almost 8 years. He brings his craft beer knowledge, artistry and practical skill to your pint glass. He enjoys brewing stouts, kettle sours, and non-traditional experimental beers. He also has a solid foundation in brewing the traditional favorites.

Clairvoyant Brewing is located about a mile west of Boise City Center and just a few blocks from the Ester Simplot Water Park. It is a short walk for many customers in the neighborhood of 27th street and State Street. There is very little parking in the brewery parking lot, but many of their regular customers will probably be able to walk or bike the short distance to this neighborhood pub. There is a lot of on street parking in a two block radius of the brewery also.

Clairvoyant has a taproom but no restaurant. It will rely on food trucks like many other Boise area breweries.

The Shattuck Brewery

Idaho's 58th active brewery is easily the most remote brewery in the state. It is about 50 miles east of Moscow, Idaho, nearly an hour & half drive through the scenic mountains. It has a 10 bbl brew system. Owner/Brewer Nate Schwartz is very proud of the pure mountain water that he uses to brew his wide variety of beer for the locals and the tourists.
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Saturday, September 2, 2017

I was pretty sure thatWhite Dog Brewing would open the first week of September, but I was still surprised to see this message on their Facebook page on Friday: "We stayed up all night to get things ready, so our doors are open as of 11 a.m. today. Please accept our sincerest thanks for your ongoing interest, engagement, and enthusiasm. We can't wait to meet you."It was posted at 2 minutes after 11:00.

I checked Facebook a little after 1:00 as I was preparing to do some yard work. So I changed clothes and call my buddy, Mike Johnston, and told him to meet me at the old Table Rock Brewing location at 2:00 and I was on my way.

It was great to drink beer at 705 W. Fulton again; good beer and a wonderful staff. Sara, the manager was very happy to take time to talk about the brewery, the beer and their concept of a full time food truck (fifth wheel). Dan, owner and brewer, came over and talked about their beer and how they are planning to keep the history of Table Rock alive by offering two Table Rock signature beers, Hopzilla and TD's Nut Brown Ale. The Hopzilla is currently on tap and brought back great memories as I drank a pint of one of my favorite beers reborn. It was not on the untappd app, so I added it plus the new location.

My wife, Nelda and I have a long history of drinking beer at that location. We were there on the opening day of Table Rock Brew Pub 26 years ago. The original brewery was owned by Mike and Peggy Fitzgerald. Their first Head Brewer was Terry Dennis, a long-time home brewer and member of Boise's first Home Brew Club, the Boise Quaffers. Table Rock became our favorite restaurant in Boise. We only lived three miles away, so we were there a lot.

We bought our first Growler there. It was a clear bottle that still had an Apple Cider Vinegar label on it. We used to buy a couple of growlers of TD's Nut Brown Ale on Christmas Eve every year.

Over the years we drank Table Rock beer brewed by Terry Dennis, Bob McSherry, Kerry Caldwell and Derek Anderson. We drank beer brewed by Marvin Kinney when it was the Post Modern Brewery and now we are drinking beer brewed by White Dog Brewing's Dan Jordan and Troy Moore, who are both the owners and the brewers.

We are very excited to be able to take our friends to White Dog Brewing for food and drink. It is a new brewery to Boise but the location has been home to a brewery since 1991.

I checked out the new brewery on Friday and brought my wife to see it on Monday. We planned to check out the food that they served fromSmoke and Thyme. Smoke and Thyme food is cooked in a fifth wheel mobile kitchen that sits in the alley next to White Dog. You don't leave the tap room to order or get the food. Your server at White Dog will take the order and deliver your food. It is included in your bill at White Dog. You can also order their food from the Longdrop Cider Company which is in the same building as White Dog.

This is where the food is prepared

I had the BLT (photo below). It was very good and they served it on a slice of a tree. Nelda had the street tacos that she loved. We are looking forward to trying some of their vegetarian fare, as well.

My BLT, served on a slice of log

When we visited Monday, Dan gave us tour of the brewery and showed us a few changes. It still has the 15BBL original system, the wall was moved to allow more room for the brewing process. The loss in floor space from the tap room was made up for by moving the wall where the former kitchen was. What's left of that space is now used for keg and canned beer storage.

The 15BBL Boil Kettle and Mash Tun

Fermentor containing a Fresh Hop Ale

Fermentors facing west

The old kitchen space holding cans of White Dog Beer

The old kitchen space holding kegs ready to distribute

White Dog Brewery becomes the 57th Brewery in Idaho (counting only current breweries) and 21st brewery in the Treasure Valley. White Dog becomes the third brewery in Idaho that had a brewery in another state before coming to Idaho. Ten Barrel Brewing opened it's second Brew Pub in Boise after their highly successful Brew Pub in Bend, Oregon. Mother Earth Brewing opened a huge production brewery with a tap room in Nampa, Idaho. Their first brewery was in Vista, California.

Oh....I can't forget the Frost Rail...it's fun to set your glass on its snowy surface to keep your beer cold. And another great reason to sit at the bar.

The Frost Rail

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In other Valley Brewery news, I met Alvin Mullins at PreFunk Nampa. Alvin plans to open the 2C Family Brewery right across the street from PreFunk. He originally was calling his brewery Black Angel Brewing, but another brewery took offense and threatened to "legal up" if he continued to use that name. Alvin plans to have a tap room that will be open to families, hence the name. We wish Alvin the best of luck on his new brewery, which will be the third brewery in Nampa.

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I talked to Heather and Ryan, the owners of PreFunk Nampa about their upcoming expansion. The expansion will double floor space of their business, but they do not plan to add a bottle shop. They already sell a few bottles of very special releases.

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About Me

Bob Hubler is a local craft beer fan and homebrewer. Bob starting drinking local microbrew beer back in 1985 when he would drink Tim Batt's Lagers at Tim's Snake River Brewery. Bob still uses Tim's Snake River Brewery caps on his home brew beer. Now Bob likes to keep tabs on local craft beer news and events and sharing all that information thru his Blog, Facebook Page and Twitter.